pumpkin pie brownies

I am intermittently pinching myself and typing because I am sitting in my brand new home office writing this post. It has been such a (long long long) exciting process, I can’t believe it is finally coming to a close. I am now down to choosing drawer pulls and deciding where I am going to put my various clipboards. To my left is my super awesome Marshalls score; a set of tin bins, which Lila helped me fill with all the 9,000 magazines I subscribe to and still haven’t found the time to read. Also to my left is a pretty sweet Stilleto finish hammer and a rechargeable DeWalt drill. I wonder how long I’ll let them sit there. To my right is what I imagine to some day be a super organized family mail, phone, and message center. Let’s just say, it’s not looking so organized right now. Then there’s another super-awesome Marshall’s score, a great big cork board, which I painted the frame of, but it is just, like leaning up against the wall for now. Hmm, I wonder when I will get to that? Honestly, I don’t care and I am smiling like an idiot because I am sitting in my brand new home office!

Other exciting news is these freakin’ browies! Holla! I know right, you’re thinking Katie, why are you going on and on about the finish hammer, when there are these gorgeous BROWNIES looking at me? Enough about the Marshalls scores and more about the BROWNIES!!!

So ok. I’m with you. I have been obsessing about these brownies for months! Almost as long as I have been waiting to be sitting at this desk. Since July in fact. I have been waiting for the moment to share them. When I found out I was going to have the opportunity to do a guest post on the Healthy Aperture Blog I was like, ooh! The Brownies! I’ll do the brownies! So obviously, one look at these puppies, and you know they’re not regular brownies. These are PUMPKIN PIE BROWNIES. They are made with brownie on the bottom, pumpkin pie filling on the top, and then the two do a swirly dance and bake together. Magic. That’s all you need to know. And because I love pumpkin sweet treats so much, make sure you check out these amazing One Bowl Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Muffins by Beaming Baker!

This recipe also appears on The Healthy Aperture Blog. Be sure to head over there for a visit to find lots of healthy beautiful recipes. And be sure to leave a comment here if you have any tips on how to organize the phone area. I’m all ears.

pumpkin pie brownies

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• Author: Katie Webster
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 24 brownies 1x

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Description

Healthy Chocolate Brownies with Pumpkin Pie Swirl.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 ounces Neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese)
• ¾ cup sugar, divider
• 3 eggs, divided
• 1 can pure pumpkin puree, divided
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour or white whole-wheat
• ¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda, sifted
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly (see tip)
• ½ cup non-fat buttermilk

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Beat Neufchatel and ¼ cup sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until completely smooth. Add 1 egg and beat until smooth. Add ¾ cup pumpkin, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice and beat until smooth. Set aside.
3. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the remaining ½ cup sugar, 2 eggs, the remaining pumpkin puree, 2 teaspoons vanilla, oil and chocolate in a large bowl until completely smooth. Add flour mixture, and beat until smooth. Add buttermilk and beat until completely combined.
4. Spread chocolate brownie mixture out in the pan. Top with the pumpkin cream cheese layer. Drag a clean knife through the layers to swirl.
5. Bake until the brownie is set and the edges are lightly puffed, 30-32 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Notes

48 mg Cholesterol, 13 g Added Sugar

Tip* to melt chocolate: place chocolate in a small microwave-safe container. Microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring between each round, until mostly melted. Let sit, stirring often until completely melted. To melt without a microwave see here.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: dessert
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 bars
• Calories: 240
• Sugar: 16 g
• Sodium: 290 mg
• Fat: 13 g
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Carbohydrates: 30 g
• Fiber: 6 g
• Protein: 6 g

Keywords: pumpkin pie brownies